Progressive Breakfast: House Democrats Will Be Measured By Their People's Budget Vote

MORNING MESSAGE

The People’s Budget vote will tell us which Democrats keep themselves trapped in the constraints of a conservative/corporate establishment that might tolerate palliatives for ease the pain of our economic sickness but rejects the surgery that would cure it, and the Democrats willing to break the restraints and reach for solutions that match the severity of America’s problems – and the possibilities of a much better future for working people. (PLUS: Terrance Heath on "Five Ways The GOP Budget Will Harm American Families.")

House Votes Budget Today

House GOP leadership expects to pass budget today. The Hill: “GOP leaders believe the House will eventually back the amended version of the Price budget, which would increase a Pentagon war fund to $96 billion and require no offsets … Under the procedure set up by House leaders, the budget that receives the most votes will be considered the adopted version. If multiple budgets tie for the most votes, the version that is voted on last will win. The amended Price budget is scheduled to get that last vote…”
Conservative faction indicates support for leadership budget. Politico: “‘We’re not the caucus of no. We’re a group trying to get to yes,’ said Rep. Matt Salmon … It remains to be seen if the group can support leadership when spending bills move this fall, some of which will need to include concessions to the White House and Senate Democrats to be enacted.”
National parks are underfunded and falling into “disrepair.” Mother Jones: “National parks and historic sites need almost $12 billion in upkeep—or about four times the National Parks Service’s annual budget … The NPS is urging Congress to fund its 2016 budget requests of $248.2 million for high-priority repairs and $300 million over three years for longer-term projects. And that’s just the start. For roads and transportation projects, NPS is hoping for $150 million in Obama’s proposed transportation bill.”

Senate Sifts Through Budget Amendments

Republicans block amendment to protect Social Security. W. Post “An amendment offered by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) would have mandated a 60-vote supermajority to pass any spending bill cutting Social Security benefits. Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) — all potential GOP presidential contenders — voted against the amendment, while Kirk was joined by five other Republicans in supporting it. It fell nine votes short of the 60 necessary for adoption.”
The Hill’s Markos Moulitsas argues that progressive have the upper hand on Social Security: “For the first time, Democrats aren’t on the defensive on Social Security. This is no longer about preventing cuts, or staving off Republican austerity … we finally have a Democratic Party with a positive agenda for bolstering the bottom line for retirement security.”
GOP blocks infrastructure amendment. USA Today: “The Senate voted Tuesday to reject a proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont that would have created millions of infrastructure jobs and closed an ‘absurd’ tax loophole to pay for the plan … The tax loopholes targeted by Sanders’ amendment let corporations and wealthy Americans shift jobs and profits overseas…”
Mayors, not governors, lead infrastructure push. The Atlantic: “…the U.S. Conference of Mayors launched what it says will be the largest coordinated campaign by mayors in some time, pushing Congress to reauthorize the surface-transportation bill … only seven of the 35 biggest American cities have Republican mayors. Meanwhile, Republicans increasingly dominate at the state level, controlling 31 governorships … [So] mayors, rather than governors [are taking] over the dominant role in pushing for transportation spending …”
Senate to vote on budget amendment targeting EPA climate regs. The Hill: “Senate Republicans are proposing a budget amendment that would let states opt out of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) controversial climate rule for power plants.”
Reid not on board with Boehner-Pelosi “doc fix” deal. THe Hill: “‘I personally am going to wait until we see it having passed the House before we start speculating what we need to do with it, if anything,’ Reid told a pack of reporters. Senate Democrats [object] that the package would only extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for two years instead of four. But it is abortion and a two-year extension of federal funding under ObamaCare for community health centers that appear to be the biggest sticking points.”

Breakfast Sides

The Nation magazine publishes 150th anniversary issue, featuring contribution from CAF’s Robert Borosage. Editor Katrina vanden Heuvel: “Our very first issue described ‘the conflict of the ages, the great strife between the few and the many, between privilege and equality, between law and power, between opinion and the sword.’ This anniversary issue is a record of the last 150 years of that conflict—and as long as The Nation is around, that fight will go on.”
WH launches paid leave campaign. W. Post: “Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett will travel to several states this spring to promote paid-leave policies, showing the extent to which the Obama administration is working outside the Beltway to achieve its policy goals … The push for paid leave has gathered momentum across the country, though it tends to be in Democratic-leaning states and cities…”
“Democratic trio set to sell Obama administration’s trade agenda” reports The Hill: “A new trade effort got a boost on Tuesday with the addition of a Democratic power trio to sell the Obama administration’s trade agenda on Capitol Hill. Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire, and former U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk have joined the Progressive Coalition for American Jobs…”
IMF report flags declining unions as main factor in global inequality: “…we find strong evidence that lower unionization is associated with an increase in top income shares in advanced economies during the period 1980–2010 … thus challenging preconceptions about the channels through which union density affects income distribution.”

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